Strangers Still
by Joyful Pixie
Summary: Alluro receives some advice on how to win the heart of a woman from Cheetara and ends up giving her a gift in return. Hints of Chilluro, TyChee, and AlluChee. An almost AlluChee friendship fic


**Hina: **Another one shot I wrote a long time ago. You could count this as a prequel to _Gifts of Frost _since gift giving and flowers are the central themes of this one shot. Great, now I'm feeling like writing out an odd muiltichaptered story about a blooming friendship (and possible romance) between Alluro and Cheetara. I hope you enjoy the one shot.

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Warning: Contains hints of Chilluro and a slight hint of AlluChee (Alluro/Cheetara), but the Alluro and Cheetara pairing is border lining the beginnings of a friendship than romance.

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Strangers Still…

The trees of the forest waved their branches around as the wind tickled their leaves, making the sunlight from above shimmer this way and that like little miniature stars. Alluro made a face of disgust at the sheer beauty of this scenery before him. He'd much prefer the eerie beauty of Dark Side rather than the peacefulness of the forest. The long-eared Lunatak was born from the darkness and thus he'd rather die in the darkness. Hearing a twig snapping in two behind him, Alluro's pale hand went to the Psyche Club hanging at his hip. His fingers brushed lightly against the blue orb at the end, but no sooner than he reached for it when he felt something poking him in the middle of his back.

He growled. His eyes narrowed. He turned his head slightly to see who was poking him in the back. Much to his surprise, it was the damned Cheetah. "Out for a stroll, are we, Cheetara?" Alluro said smugly. He could see Cheetara's orange eyes narrowing. Anger was glittering in them. Her lips tightened themselves, almost disappearing into her skin.

Another gust of wind blew. This time it tossed the tendrils of Cheetara's spotted blond hair about her face, making her seem wilder than her friends. Cheetara gripped the middle of her staff with both of her hands. Her entire body became tense at hearing Alluro's snarky tone. "I was out on patrol until I picked up your energy, _Alluro_. Just what are you doing here in the Unicorns' Forest?"

Alluro felt his smirk deepen. "Why so much suspicion in your tone, Thundercat? Can't a Lunatak enjoy a simple stroll through a forest? Do I not have a right to enjoy this peace and some time to myself? I can't always be cooped up in Sky Tomb with the others, can I?" he saw confusion grace the Cheetah's face and he smiled. _That's right, Thundercat. Fall for my trap. Go away and leave me alone…_

Cheetara lowered her guard for a split second, her brain registering the words of the troll. She couldn't help but feel that there was something more to the Troll's words than that. _Lunataks are not to be trusted._ She reminded herself and she pulled her staff back towards her some, keeping it pointed at him. "Something tells me you're lying." The female Cat said lowly. Her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion at seeing Alluro slowly turning around.

"Oh, but Cheetara, you should know better than anyone what it means to enjoy nature," Alluro said softly. The tone in his voice made her jump. He saw Cheetara's gaze flicker to a cloth draped over the basket in his left hand and he smirked even more.

Cheetara felt her heart jumping in fright_. He's hiding something in the basket._ Her gaze narrowed once more and Cheetara now aimed the staff at the basket. "What's in the basket Alluro." She asked. She would kick herself if Alluro really did just have something harmless under the dingy gray cloth.

"Do you really want to see?" Alluro asked, his eyes narrowing at her in return. He could see the curiosity creeping onto the woman's face. She wanted to know and yet she didn't. How amusing this was to him. He gently placed a hand at the edge of the cloth over the blanket. He slowly began to lift the corner of the blanket until Cheetara looked away, retracting her staff.

"N-never mind!" The Cheetah gave him a faint smile, but much to her surprise, Alluro peeled back the cloth anyways and she saw a variety of flowers – obviously from the Unicorn Meadow – neatly arranged in the inside of the basket. What surprised her even more, was Alluro reaching into the basket and pulling out a single light purple flower. She blinked at seeing the Psychic Lunatak offering it to her.

"Take it and leave me be! I have no ill intentions towards you and the Thundercats… today." Alluro growled. Collecting flowers just happen to be a little secret hobby of his… much to his dismay of course. _These flowers will enable me to make the perfect gift for her…_ his heart pounded a bit in his chest at his thoughts gearing towards Chilla. He wanted to impress her – the Ice Mistress – but he wasn't sure how.

As if to sense his inner turmoil, Cheetara gave him a faint smile and gently took the bloom from Alluro. "Thank you, but perhaps you should speak more kindly to a woman when offering her a flower," Cheetara said softly, her fingers gently stroking the silky petals of the Iris flower. She saw the surprise creeping up on Alluro. All she could do was smile. It was almost cute seeing the blush tingeing his pale skin. It almost reminded her of Tygra's shyness – to which her own heart started beating furiously. Her beloved tiger had often brought home flowers for her and it so happens that Irises was Cheetara's personal favorites.

"Bleh, her heart is as frozen as her personality." She heard Alluro mumble. Alluro just looked away and glanced at the Cheetah out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be enjoying the flower. Maybe the aroma of the flower was intoxicating her? Again, his thoughts trailed back to Chilla. Chilla had turned his last peace offering into a solid block of ice – with a sneer on her lips. Oh, but how he loved her frosty personality. Chilla's coldness is what attracted him to her.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to her personal likes and dislikes." Cheetara's soft tone sparked a strange interest within him and Alluro finally looked at her.

"And how would I go about doing that?" Alluro found himself asking that aloud before he was able to think it.

Cheetara just shrugged, her smile faltering. "A lot of women like it when men show their feelings through words." She said. She then placed her staff back into her arm guard. Cheetara walked a few paces away before glancing back at the confused Lunatak. "Tell her you love her." She zipped off, becoming a yellow blur before Alluro could say another word, leaving the said Lunatak alone once more.

Alluro just blinked. He turned his gaze to the basket of flowers in his hand. He already knew what Chilla liked. Chilla liked flowers, not little cakes or chocolates or love poems. But even if he were to shower his crush with flowers, or tell her how he really felt, they would be strangers still.


End file.
